Raymond Ashley Petersen

A good man has left us. A true fighter. Raymond Ashley Petersen, our dear husband, father, brother, grandfather, great grandfather and uncle passed away peacefully in the early morning of April 11, 2016. Ray was born in Superior, Montana on April 24, 1934 to Roscoe and Sarah Petersen. Ray spent his early years at Cyr and Tarkio while he attended school in Alberton. Following high school, he worked for the Milwaukee Railroad. In 1956, Ray married the love of his life, Donna Mook. Together, they had four children and enjoyed snowmobiling, dancing, hunting, camping and a life of family, friends and fun. Ray was always busy, working one or two jobs while supporting his growing familyfrom logging posts for the post and pole yard to being a hunting guide every fall out of his hunting camps, bringing hunters from Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Louisiana to enjoy the beauty of western Montana. Special memories and lifelong friendships were formed and still remain special to all of us. Ray enjoyed his many years working for the Montana Highway Department in Saltese, Montana until he eventually was forced to retire following his stroke in 1988. Since retiring, Ray spent his time building the family home, gardening his strawberries, woodworking and enjoying his visits from his children, grandchildren and now great grandchildren. Always smiling and joking, he was a man of few words but could speak volumes with his own gestures.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Donna Petersen, his children; Rusty (Karen) Petersen of Anacortes, Washington, Dani (Lee) Bestrom of Billings, and Debbie Reynolds of Great Falls; his 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren; his brother Joe Petersen and sister Deloris Lehman. He is preceded in death by his parents; son, Raymond Petersen and siblings Audrey, Betty, Bill, Bud, Frank, Gretta, Jim, Lewis, Mary and Noni.

The family wishes to acknowledge the words of comfort, cards, prayers and other expressions of love, sympathy and kindness shown before, during and after the loss of our loved one. In due course, we hope to express our gratitude to each of you personally. A family graveside service will be held in DeBorgia and a Memorial service is planned for family and friends on June 18, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at Lincolns Ranch house, Haugan, Montana.

Service Information Memorial Service Saturday June 18, 2016 2:00 PM to 2:00 PM Lincoln's Ranch House Haugan, MT